September 27, 2010

Keepers

Keepers are new recipes that meet pretty tough standards in our home. They're recipes we like so much we'd rather stay home than dine out. Most often, they're somewhat healthy too.

We recently tried the Spinach, Beet, and Walnut Salad from this book. The dressing didn't knock our socks off, so on day two we used a store-bought, natural blush wine vinaigrette. It was really good. We'll use the recipe as inspiration and add this to our list of "keepers". The base ingredients are baby spinach, sliced endive, steamed beets, toasted walnuts, and goat cheese.

From the same book we also made Butternut Squash Bisque. Lucky for us, the recipe is posted online here. In our opinion, this recipe is perfection. It's vegan, makes enough to share with friends, and has a very special flavor. Orange zest is the secret ingredient that gives this soup pizazz. Bon Appetit!